X-ray diffraction
Elphidium (calcite shell) – Powder XRD pattern
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) facility comprises several state-of-the-art instruments used for phase identification, quantification and crystal structure analysis.
Our laboratory specialises in the mineralogical characterisation of crystalline materials. We examine single crystals and powdered samples taken from rocks, ores, meteorites, soils, biominerals and manufactured materials.
Preparation labs are available for various pre-treatments. This includes the grinding of powders and clay-specific preparations (oriented mounts, glycol solvation, thermal treatments), and the setup of high-pressure experiments with diamond-anvil cells.
The most recent PDF-5 database from the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) is available for phase identification. Standard minerals from our collection are used for quantification of multi-phase mixtures.
(Na,H3O) jarosite – Single crystal XRD pattern (reconstructed hk0 layer)
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